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Welcome Students!

This page has been set up as a discussion site between Honors Bio students who have been studying evolution, and 10th grade English students who have been reading Inherit the Wind.

Since Darwin's theories first found their way into high school text books, the theory of evolution's place in public education has been an ongoing controversy. The most famous example of this is the 1925 Scopes Trial which is dramatized in the play Inherit the Wind, but many other court cases since then have continued to challenge thoughts on this topic through today.

Please note that the purpose of our discussion is NOT to debate science vs. religion, but to discuss and digest the many issues and perspectives that fuel this controversy and to give you a more in depth understanding of content discussed in class.


Please read and follow the instructions below

  1. First, please read both of the articles linked below
    1. Should Children Be Exposed to Facts?
    2. Closing speech to the 1925 Scopes Trial that William Jennings Bryan planned, but never gave.
  2. Formulate some THOUGHTS on the articles based on what you have been discussing in your classrooms. What do you think about the overall ideas expressed in the articles? What specific points do you agree with or disagree with? As a student directly affected by this issue, what is your perspective? Please remember, the purpose of this discussion is NOT to debate evolution vs. creationism, but to get you to examine the issues behind the controversy.
  3. Post your comments about the articles using the discussion tab above and selecting your assigned discussion thread.
  4. After you have posted, READ comments in other threads and RESPOND to someone else's post. Remember, it is OK to disagree, but do so respectfully and make sure to give reasons for your disagreement or support. Please begin these responses by alluding to the person who made the original post: for example "I strongly agree with John's comment about..."

To View Discussion Rubric Click Here


IMPORTANT: Please lable your posts as follows:

  • POST: for your INITIAL RESPONSE
  • R1: for your first REPLY
  • R2: for your second REPLY


A Summary of Inherit the Wind:


The play, Inherit the Wind, by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee is based on the historical Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925. The main characters are Rachel Brown, Bertram Cates, E. K. Hornbeck, Mathew Harrison Brady, Reverend Jeremiah Brown, and Henry Drummond. Drummond and Brady are lawyers. Cates is a school teacher on trial because he taught Darwin’s theory of evolution. Rachel Brown is Cates’ girlfriend and the daughter of the Reverend. Hornbeck is a newspaper reporter covering the trial. The play takes place in the summer in the 1920s in a small town called Hillsboro.

Cates was a school teacher who was teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution which upset the townspeople. He went to trial for doing this. Cates was found guilty but only had to pay a fine of $100. Drummond thought that Cates won the trial because Cates allowed people learn to think for themselves.



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